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If we consider crafting a product and start asking people what to do first, the chances are high that we’ll hear the magical sentence “minimum viable product”, which basically means “a product that has a set of properties which will permit only deployment and nothing more”. Thus, companies test the market and the consumers before they release a polished / perfectly designed product.

Of course, a strategy like this minimizes costs, resources and saves time spent on creating a product that has the risk of not being accepted by consumers. Seeing what the market’s response is to your solution and iterating while getting tons of feedback is like using a laser pointer to focus on your target audience. You can call it going Agile, Scrum or Lean but the main idea is that the development team will gather the entire information needed in order to iterate and improve the product. You’ll find yourself trying to control the evolution of an ever-changing environment.

You could say, “So, I already know what you’re talking about and don’t tell me ‘minimum viable product’ is very important.” No, that’s not the point, just catch up and read on…

If we take a closer look at how the world keeps spinning these days, we will see that it is orbiting around social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.) and instant messaging apps. This knowledge leads us to the “world of Word-of-Mouth Marketing”. Under these circumstances, focusing only on a viable product is like sending a robot to the Mars but not thinking about the atmospheric conditions.

“Focusing only on a viable product is like sending a robot to the Mars but not thinking about the atmospheric conditions”.

It is easy to say that the minimum viable products are prone to failure in many cases. For a product to be successful and for a company to have the buzz it needs, the product has to be viral. While constant iteration and execution processes continue, and we develop something better each time, we should consider the virality effect of the product. While taking virality factor into account, some marketers measure it with the K-factor, others use marketing analytics to calculate the effects of viral acquisitions,

Definition

A minimum viral product means that the minimum viable product enhanced by the viral effects, and it should be designed to reach the level where it received a high degree of acceptance from users. At this point, keeping and increasing the momentum of the buzz is a proven way to become an option against the others. Check out some growth charts below, you’ll notice that the newer the product, the growth angle is becoming closer to vertical. As a result, the virality is becoming more and more important every day.

Agreed? Here is how to start:

Many discussions and much analysis have shown that the minimum viable product theory may fail and there are known causes, such as “false value proposition” and “not identifying early adopters”. [4] [5]

To make your steps more secure and stay away from these problems, focusing on the minimum viral product can be your guide to a sustainable company. Because while you’re thinking about a minimum viral product, you should always consider:

A story your users can share and tell others that your “proposed value” is better than the others’

Researching and taking close attention on the target audience and early adopters who can be your evangelists

Get to know your niche and current players in that area

Communication channels to say “Hi” to your new comers

Nevertheless, there is a need for some entrepreneurial skills and knowledge to know how to nurse and grow a process like this.

The fact is that a minimum viable product is not enough if you wish to get through with your business in today’s world. You need to make deeper and better analysis of the situation in the area of the enterprise. To produce a minimum viral product, you will need to capture the attention of consumers and give your company a boost it needs. Once you’ve started, always be careful about how things evolve and how your product, regardless of its nature, is received by potential customers. Without a constant improvement, your product will not reach the high growth levels you wish for. Wisdom is also requested, because when getting started, you need to know how to juggle around with minimum resources and still come up with a product worthy enough of everybody’s attention.

Your turn…

What do you think about the minimum viral product approach? Do you have any suggestions for the entrepreneurs who are developing new products? You’re more than welcome to share them below.